Hazy Bonds
by DiscoloredLady
Summary: Merlin and Morgana were childhood friends, and there wasn't anything they wouldn't do for each other. Everyone saw the looks they threw at each other when one of them wasn't looking, and even Arthur wasn't blind to it. Everyone could see that they were head-over-heels for each other. They weren't fooling anyone, except maybe for themselves.
1. Prologue - Play Fair

**AN: **_Heyy. So I have decided to make a story that isn't M rated, lol. About this proglogue… I have no idea how to write in the perspective of children, so please bear with it. __ I do hope it will get better in the future chapters._

**Hazy Bonds**

**Prologue**

"Get out, now!" shouted the young blond as he stomped his foot on the ground. Merlin, who was sitting on the swing, frowned in annoyance, pouting towards the blonde's direction and shook his head. Who did he think he was, a prince?

"No!" he stated in defiance to the other boy.

The pale haired boy's face reddened with rage and he seized the ropes of the swing, shaking it violently. Merlin jumped off the swing and stumbled on to the ground in fear of falling off, staggering a bit until he landed on the ground with his rear. The other boy grinned in triumph, plopping down on the emptied seat and began to swing with moderate force.

Merlin's frown deepened as his small face contorted to a despair that seemed great for a child as he made no effort to stand from the ground.

"But I was there first!" Merlin cried as he stared at the swing longingly. The blond boy stuck out his tongue at Merlin and continued on to swing his legs on his stolen seat. Merlin then stood in defeat and began to retreat to a secluded area of the playground, and upon glancing back at his bully's happy and satisfied form, his eyes started to redden as he settled on the grass with his legs crossed. Tears began to blur his vision, and large drops fell from his eyes and stained his cheeks. He whimpered and sniffled as he started to sob softly, grief-stricken that his seat on the swing was taken from him.

A girl slowed as she chased her friend in the playground, the laughter in her throat dying as she heard her older brother's voice shout out in anger from the other side of the open area. She watched, paralysed, as her brother shook a thin pale-skinned boy from the seat that was originally his, and saw as he went to sit alone where no one else played in, obviously crying in misery.

"Morgana!" called out her friend as she ran back to her still form, her curly hair bouncing on her shoulders and her mocha coloured skin covered in sheens of sweat. "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering her friend's question, she shook her head with a dazed expression and strode out to the poor boy her brother had bullied, leaving her best friend confused.

She approached the boy with slow silent steps, unsure and hesitant as of how to speak to the crying boy. When she was an arm's length from him, she clasped her hands behind her and cleared her throat, setting her head a bit low in a shy gaze towards the boy. He looked up from the ground to meet her eyes, and she wanted to laugh at the state of him: red puffy eyes glassy from tears, his cheeks shining from the drops that slid down his face, snot coming out from his nose, and he had ridiculously large ears sticking out from the dark waves on his head that were curiously slightly red. It was quite a comical sight, but seeing him in his state, she did pity him and suddenly felt anger towards her brother for doing this selfish deed.

She stuck out her hand to the boy. "I'm Morgana," she stated. The raven haired boy shot her a confused look before shaking her hand. "Merlin," he answered in a soft voice, hoarse from the sobs he had earlier could not contain. Morgana stood there in front of him as he watched for her next course of action. Now that she was there, she suddenly became absolutely clueless as to how to comfort this boy, who she came to know to be called Merlin. Still, she knew that she needed to do something.

She slowly sat on the ground next to Merlin, not caring if her dainty white embroidered dress would get dirty, putting on a small sad smile as she watched him sniffle and avert his gaze back on the ground. She rested her tiny white hand on his bony shoulder and tried to reassure him. "It's okay. Please stop crying, it's okay." Merlin gave her a small shaky smile of his own, but it was easily shattered when the sound of bubbling laughter from the blond haired boy reached their ears.

After starting to try to make Merlin feel better, she suddenly felt angry once more towards her brother as he ruined this chance for her to succeed in her task to right his wrong. If comforting Merlin this way wouldn't work, then she'd do the only thing she can do: play fair. She grabbed his hand, earning a surprised yelp from Merlin as he was dragged across the vast playground to be lead by the mysterious girl he had met only moments before.

They stopped in front of the blond boy, a hard look on Morgana's small pale face as she let go of Merlin's hand to cross her arms over her chest. "Give Merlin the swing back," she demanded of the boy as he slowed down the swing. He pouted and stuck out his tongue. "No!" Merlin watched the exchange between the two children with wide eyes, unknown to him that they were in fact siblings. In a farther distance stood Morgana's friend, watching the scene unfold right before her eyes with concern and a slight fear.

"Arthur," Morgana scolded her big brother, her tone more commanding than it was earlier.

"No," Arthur shook his head in finality with his decision. At that, Morgana's arms went limp to her sides as her eyes widened slightly and began to water. Her cries were silent at first, until they became louder by the second. She knew he wouldn't deny her baby sister anything, especially if she ever shed tears. The fact that he had made her cry, well, that was much worse for him.

Moving as fast as lightning, Arthur stood from the swing and rushed to Morgana's side. He began to apologized non-stop, trying to comfort her and hush her cries in a surrendering voice. He faced Merlin and reluctantly apologized to him as well, telling him that he could have his seat back.

Her gaze went up to meet Merlin's eyes and pointed back at the swing, as if commanding him to sit. He wiped his still tear-stained face and quickly obeyed, scared of defying the little girl, and sat down on the swing with an amazed expression gracing his features.

Morgana wiped her own cheeks and soon the grimace she had on disappeared without a trace, shooting Arthur a triumphant grin that showed her perfect pearly teeth. Arthur grumbled as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts, turning to walk away from the two dark haired children as he knew what his sister had done. Morgana watched him as he walked to the slide with excitement, as if the scene that had happened only moments before never occurred.

Merlin looked down on where he sat, then back at Morgana as she watched her brother. He stood and patted her on her shoulder, earning her attention. His cheeks suddenly reddened, a heat he could not yet understand creeping up his neck, and pointed at the swing shyly.

"Do you want to try?" he asked. "I'll push the swing for you." Morgana grinned, and unable to say no to the boy she had come to rather like. Watching her dark skinned friend run towards them, she sat down on the swing and waited for Merlin to make her move back and forth, knowing that she had made a new friend.


	2. Kiss To Depart

**Hazy Bonds**

**Chapter 1 – Kiss To Depart**

He threw another pebble at her window when she didn't answer the first time. He bit his lip and bent down to retrieve another pebble from the ground and raised it, only to pause mid-throw when two white hands raised her window and her head poked out.

Her expression was filled of dread for a moment, until a bright smile shone on her lips, the one she reserved only for him. He frowned at that, wondering as to what was wrong.

"What?" she whispered only loud enough for him to hear from the second story of her gigantic house.

Merlin cocked his head and grinned cheekily. "Is it a crime to see you now?"

Morgana giggled and raised her forefinger to her lips and closed the window. She knew what his visit meant: the occasional stroll down to the park.

They had grown accustomed to the habit of walking together in the night in the recent years, because although it was a bit dangerous, they still escaped the confines of their houses and together walked to a place where they could simply be themselves, and that led them to the park where the playground was situated, the playground where they first met when they were five-years-old almost a decade ago.

Merlin walked briskly to the front of her house as he waited for her to escape, and when she did, she came out running as she grabbed his hand upon reaching him and, like she had all those years ago, dragged him on as she led him across the streets. She might have been quite a length shorter than he was, and though he had long legs, he struggled to keep up with her. She always did have fast legs.

When they finally stopped in front of the swing set that stood at the edge of the playground, she let go of his hand and gracefully sat down on the seat in the middle. When she raised her eyes to look at Merlin, who was still standing where they had stopped their dash, she saw that he was panting, his hands resting on his knees, and his hair pointing out to different directions. She burst into laughter at his dishevelled state, resulting to Merlin looking up at her with a confused expression that made her clutch at her stomach and laugh all the more.

When tears where starting to form in Morgana's eyes from all the laugter, Merlin finally caught his breath and plopped down on the swing beside hers, running his fingers through his hair to attempt to tame it. He muttered a "shut up", but she continued on with her peals of laughter, and it took her joyous state quite a while to die down.

"You know, we didn't have to run a marathon all the way here. Do you know how far this place is from your house?" Merlin finally exclaimed when she had caught the breath she had to catch that she lost not because of their run, but because of him. Merlin smiled slightly at the thought.

When she didn't answer, he looked over to her to find her looking up at the sky, at the dark night filled with glimmering stars shining above them, with a smile on her face, only it wasn't like his. He could see that her lips twisted upward with ironic grimness.

"What's wrong?" he frowned, worried for her downcast mood.

She looked over to him, her smile unwavering, and whispered, "We're leaving."

He couldn't describe the confusion that was washing over him like ice. Leaving? What did she mean by that?

"What do you mean when you say 'leave'?" he asked slowly, unsure of himself.

She took her eyes from him, but this time, instead of looking up, she looked down.

"I…" she trailed off, unable to continue. Merlin waited for her to speak, making him increasingly worried about what she would say. She looked back up at him, dead in the eyes, and it made him shiver.

"We're leaving," she continued when she had found her voice, "to migrate."

Merlin's confusion grew all the more. "Wait, what? Migrate? To where? Why?" All sorts of questions were popping up in his head, his mind begging for answers.

"I… I…" she tried to say, only for her to bite her shaking lips and silent tears escaped her eyes without her consent. Merlin rushed to her side, bringing her into his arms in a tight embrace. She clung to his shirt, choking out sobs into his shoulder as she let out the flood of emotions that she had kept in all day. Morgana didn't cry, she was always strong, but when she needed to let out cries and tears, it was Merlin who she turned to.

_So this is why she looked the way she did earlier, _he thought. _She was _leaving.

* * *

Tears welled up in Merlin's eyes, just like how it did the last time he cried. He had promised himself since that day in the playground the day they had met that he would not cry again, not for anything, since big boys didn't cry. But here he was, breaking his promise as he held on to one of his best friends, afraid to let her go.

After Morgana and Arthur's father, Uther, had declared their departure for the United States months ago, it had brought them all to a state of shock. Their family would be moving to the States as a matter of business for Uther, the growing company he had built forcing them to move to where it would be more convenient.

As their surprise turned to despair very quickly, Merlin and Gwen, a dark-skinned girl Morgana had introduced him to on the same day they met, had begged and pleaded for them not to go.

After almost a decade of friendship and jokes and pranks, they were leaving. The thought had never left his mind as he shared laughs and held-back tears with his friends over the last few months that had led them to this moment. He had thought before that they would stay in their years of youth together, grow up together, and watch each day pass with the knowledge that they'd be seeing each other again each day. If Morgana and Arthur were forced to leave behind a golden childhood, then his own was being cruelly snatched away from him. He wanted them by his side. He wanted _her_ by his side.

He had already said his farewells to Arthur, with plenty of teasing and sarcasm between them and tears they managed to keep in, but with her, he simply couldn't.

With his unstable hormones and awkward stage in adolescence, he pulled back from their embrace and looked at her with his red eyes and his hands deep in his pockets.

He laughed humourlessly and wiped his tears with the back of his hand, and he saw her eyes rimming with her own, threatening to fall with only her forced smile keeping them from doing so.

He wasn't the only one hit by puberty, it marked her child form as well a couple of years ago, only it affected her in a different way. Her alabaster skin glowed all the more, her black locks growing longer and reaching past her waist, and the roundness of her face was beginning to disappear to reveal a shapely and square jaw. While he plunged in deeper into awkwardness and clumsiness, she only grew all the more beautiful each day.

"Don't you forget us," he said to her as he tried to keep the mood lighter than it really was.

Morgana grinned. "Of course I won't. I'll miss you," she replied, bringing him into her arms for a short moment until she let go.

"I don't want you to go," he choked out a whisper into her ear as he was in her embrace. She nodded and wiped his tears from his cheeks, and as a goodbye since she was unable to form the words to say them directly, she pecked her lips on his cheek and turned from her friend, her heart hammering in her chest.

With his eyes wide, he grabbed her arm and with a yelp, she was silenced with a soft pair of lips pressing against hers. She gasped as she closed her eyes with one thought ringing in her head: she was finally having her first kiss, and with a person she was sure she'd definitely not regret sharing it with.

They parted from the gentle moment they shared and smiled mournfully in their separation. He looked down on the ground shyly, carefully retrieving his hands that he had placed on her arms. Her lips pressing lightly against his once more made him look back up to where she stood, only to be greeted by the sight of her retreating form as she walked towards the car that would lead her further away from him.

**AN:** _So... she's leaving! :D What would happen next after she left?_

_So they're about 14 or 15 here, and I must admit that I found it fun to write. Please leave reviews! :)_


	3. White Dress

**AN: **_Two chapters at once? Heheh, I won't be updating tomorrow, so I thought I would give you two. :D Enjoy!_

**Hazy Bonds**

**Chapter 2 – White Dress**

Merlin sat beside the window, in the corner, inside the Prints and Cups café with books and notes strewn about on his table. The sun shone brightly outside, setting a gay and happy atmosphere in the streets of the city. His nose was shoved deep in the pages of his books, a pencil nimbly highlighting some lines from time to time, and drank from a mug of warm coffee that lay among two empty ones on the spare space of his table.

A pat on the shoulder brought his head up to be greeted by a smiling face of his old friend, who had grown to be her own pretty self over the years, with her brown curls twisted into a tight bun on her head, a few tendrils escaping it to frame her face, and an apron covering her light purple blouse and jeans. She set down a plate that carried a slice of cake on it and placed a fork beside it.

"On the house," Gwen said despite Merlin's protests for a free slice of cake. "You better have a break from all that studying or the veins on your forehead will explode," she scolded, as she started to walk away to attend to her other customers.

"Thanks!" he shouted to her as she had her back to him and he set down his textbook, wolfing down the cake as fast as he could and immediately went back to raise his study material to his face.

When Gwen saw five minutes later that his plate was empty and he was back to diving into his studies for his exams, she sighed, slightly stomping back to his table and snatching his plate, mumbling something that sounded like, "Break from studying, yeah right." Merlin chuckled and led his attention back to his books.

It was a beautiful Saturday, and even though he loathed spending it studying, he simply had to. He didn't want to have half-assed grades.

Hours later, as the sun was beginning to set on the lines of buildings in the distance, most of Merlin's books were closed and stacked on a neat pile as he gazed with hooded eyes at the open one before him, his head beginning to nod off as he had exhausted himself. Despite the plentiful mugs of coffee he had already consumed, being the sloth he was, sleep was threatening to bring him to his subconscious, but he was determined to finish everything all at once.

"Oh, dear god!" Gwen half-shouted behind the counter, waking Merlin from the brink of sleep and causing a number of people to look to her direction. He quickly looked up to see what had caused Gwen to raise her voice, as she almost never did.

He was greeted by the sight of a gapping Gwen, her eyes wide as she stared at the customer who stood before her.

As from what Merlin could see, the stranger, a woman, had long dark waves of hair tumbling down her back, and wore a white flowing dress that went as long as an inch or so above her knees. He frowned, unable to place how familiar the sight was to him, until Gwen quickly closed her mouth and sent him a nervous glance.

Gwen kept her eyes on him as he looked at her worriedly, their eyes locking as the woman in front of her talked to her. She did answer her back, but her eyes were glued to Merlin. When she did look back at the woman, she pointed a shaky hand towards his direction, which caused his eyebrows to rise in surprise. The strange woman looked towards his direction, her raven hair tossing prettily as it reflected the light that fell on it, and set her eyes on him. He averted his stare from Gwen, who was looking down on her hands as she fiddled with them on the counter, to the woman who had caused her distress. His eyes widened when she saw her face, hope and worry mixing as they graced her features.

Standing by the cashier, only a few meters away from him, stood a person he had not seen in the last four years.

Morgana.

She waved at him hesitantly, and after nodding after Gwen, she took slow careful steps towards him. He stayed frozen on his seat, unable to move with the disbelief pushing all thoughts of sleep from his mind.

Morgana stopped in front of him and then glanced down at the chairs by his table, unoccupied except for the piles of books he miraculously managed to bring to the coffee shop. She bent down to lift the pile on the seat in front of him, sitting down in its place, and put the books down on the table.

They sat there staring at each other for a long while, Morgana nervously as Merlin did so sceptically. He wanted to open his mouth, but all the questions he wanted to ask had been wiped out of his thoughts when she smiled. "Hi, Merlin."

* * *

If she had been beautiful those few years ago, she was beyond that now. She was a goddess. Her jade eyes shone brightly at him, her long dark eyelashes contrasting to her pale irises. Her skin was still as pale as ever, and her lips were painted with a red darker than blood. The dress she wore hugged her curves perfectly, complementing her shapely figure. With her right in front of him, he had no idea what to do.

He shakily laid his textbook down on one of the piles between them without taking his wide eyes off of her.

Finding his silence deafening to her ears and very unnerving, she blurted out dumbly, "So, I'm back."

Merlin simply nodded at her obvious statement, but it managed to bring him out of his dazed state. Gwen kept on glancing nervously at their direction as she stood behind the cash register as she took orders, evidently worried for her old friends.

"How—" he started, only for a lump to rise in his throat. He swallowed hard as Morgana watched his Adam's apple bob up and down. "How long have you been here?" he managed to continue hoarsely. Morgana smiled at him timidly.

"I've been around for a couple of days," she answered quietly.

"Why?" Merlin inquired further. Morgana set her hands on his books on the table and stared at her fingers.

"I'll be studying at the university here," she replied.

"Why?" he pressed on as he repeated his question. She looked back at him and scrunched her eyebrows together.

"How have you been?" she asked instead of answering his question, diverting the subject from her towards him.

Anger began to bubble in the pit of his stomach at the lack of answers that she supplied him. "Not a word, Morgana," he whispered furiously. "Not a single word from you for the past four years. Why? Would have calling once hurt? Just _once_? One word would have been enough, you know!" He was seething with the rage that he had collected in the years until he slumped back in his chair. "Four long years," he continued dejectedly.

Morgana's gaze, that had went back to her hands with her head hung low to try to hide her face as she was confronted with the wrong she did him, went back up to meet his own. His heart stopped to see that tears were running down her cheeks. Just like when she told him of her family's departure all those years ago.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she whispered softly and stood up. She hastily wiped her tears from her face and rushed towards the exit, convinced that Merlin didn't want to see her and as Gwen saw that she was leaving, her eyes widened in horror at Morgana's silent crying figure.

Before she could reach too far from the table he was situated at, Merlin hurriedly stood from his seat and grabbed her arm, pressing her against him as he buried his face into her hair. Morgana kept whispering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over as she embraced him back weakly, like they had before when they were much younger.

Merlin hushed her and simply held her tighter, not wanting to let her go.

"I've missed you," he said into her ear, similar to when he had said goodbye as he did now with their first meeting after almost half a decade. She nodded, not having the strength she had earlier to say anything as she let him hold on to her.

They stood at the corner, all the happy faces in the coffee shop unaware of the moment happening between them except for Gwen and the people nearby them.

Gwen averted her eyes from her two friends as they clung to each other. This moment between them was private, intimate. It wasn't meant for her eyes to see, and she would give them the privacy they deserved. She smiled to herself, glad that her friends had reunited with open arms, literally.

Merlin had thought the day would go on normally. It turned out that he was wrong, _very_ wrong. With his books forgotten on the table, he smiled as he had his friend, his_ Morgana_, back to him.

**AN: **_Erm... Is it too chick flick-y? I think so. :D But they deserve a chick flick moment, so I thought, what the hell. Please leave reviews! :)_


	4. Grass Beneath Their Feet

**Hazy Bonds**

**Chapter 3 – Grass Beneath Their Feet**

He led her through the streets, and though he knew fair well that she knew exactly where they were headed to, she let him pull her by the hand in the somehow comfortable silence they have built around them. Since the time that they had gone out of the café, they had not exchanged a word with each other as they didn't know what to say, or how to start. She stared at the back of his head for a while, as he was a few steps in front of her even with their clasped hands, and started glancing at the surrounding buildings she still had memorized in her head. It was all still almost exactly the same as it was the way she left it. _Almost._

Of course, the change was inevitable and was to be expected. Some of the faces in the area weren't familiar to her anymore; the paint on the buildings had either been worn down by the rain or the colour of the cement or plaster were different and painted over at some point while she was away, and there were countless other differences from the past that were small, but Morgana still found them to be a little unsettling.

As she was in the middle of reminiscing her memories of her childhood home, she lightly bumped into Merlin's back, surprising her and bringing her focus back on towards him. She saw that his feet had stopped before the tips of his shoes had touched the blades of grass of the silent park belonging to the neighbourhood. His expression betrayed no emotion that he carried in his chest, is eyes hooded as he set his gaze on the swing set by the edge of the playground, already the metal a little rusted since the last time it was repainted, with an air of fraudulent indifference around his each and every movement. Of course, she was not to be deceived.

When Morgana had decided to open her mouth, it was then that he moved forward, his steps soft upon the grass, as if he were afraid and reluctant to set his weight on them. He led her towards their old place in the playground, where they always used to stay in their earlier years. Letting go of her hand, he sat on the seat to the right of the on in middle, like he had done so both before when she still hadn't left and after. He looked at her expectantly, and she sat down in obedience to the silent command.

Expect for a pair of boys absently moving up and down the see-saw on the other side of the area, they were the only occupants of the playground under the darkening Saturday skies. She and Merlin sat in their continued solemn silence, until Morgana decided to break it.

"What'll happen to the books you left back at the coffee shop?" she asked conversationally.

Merlin shrugged. "Gwen will know what to do with them," he answered shortly, leading them back to moments without saying a word to each other to pass by between them. Morgana bit her lip, unsure of what to do or say next.

"Do you remember when we used to come and meet here everyday when we were kids to play and pull pranks on each other?" he asked with a smile after a while, remembering the beautiful memories he had stored in his mind. Morgana tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Like the time when Arthur was boasting about his dumb remote-controlled toy airplane and you thought it was a good idea to tie his shoelaces together?"

Merlin laughed at the memory. Morgana's older brother had been too busy bragging about his new toy to even notice his friends and sister's antics that day. Arthur had landed flat on his face into the ground, slightly muddy from the rain the night before, and when he had seen the cause of his fall, Arthur had sent them murderous glares that would've set anyone else on fire.

"Yeah, those days," he answered with a chuckle. They had been up to so many things back then, and it did lead them to plenty of trouble. It didn't matter at all at the time, though. All that had mattered was that they were in trouble _together_, and that they wouldn't leave each other for the world.

"But those days are long gone," Merlin added wistfully. "Long past and gone."

* * *

"Where's Arthur?" he inquired after his old friend after a few moments of silence had passed. "Why didn't he come with you to greet me and Gwen?"

Morgana turned her head so she could see him properly. But before she could reply, she was stopped short as soon as she set her eyes on him.

She couldn't help but notice the changes he had gone through as he looked on at the open space before him, the ones she didn't get to see and watch in her absence. His messy mop of hair was styled to rest cosily on the top of his head, his unruly locks still somehow managing to allow his hair to look good in an effortless fashion. His cheekbones were more defined than they were before, now sharp enough to cut better than any other blade, and his lips ripened to a soft pink. He was much taller than she expected he would be, and his gangly figure had put on more muscles to make the toned lean figure that sat beside her.

Some things don't change though, as she noticed. He still wore his good old t-shirts that had some book or movie reference or sassy line on it over a plaid polo shirt with a pair of plain jeans and sneakers, his fashion sense never changing, and his eyelashes were still as long as ever that she couldn't help but admire.

And his eyes. She had drowned in those waters that she saw through his light orbs, a calm indescribable blue, over and over again since the day she had met him. Now was no different. She was once again lost in the labyrinths of emotions in his eyes that leaked merely droplets of his feelings and inner thoughts, and already she was once again drowning. And when she realized that those eyes had been looking back at her, together with a frown to display his confusion towards her stare, she snapped right back into reality and struggled to find the responses to his questions.

"Actually, I just happened to pass by, since that café was the one I was nearest to," Morgana stammered a bit when she found the voice to supply him answers. Only when she did say it did it completely dawn on her that it wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for. "And Arthur's at a meeting," and after a moment of thought, she added, "with our father."

Merlin merely stared at her, taking in the little pieces of information she gave him. She once more found his silence unnerving, and so she looked away from his piercing gaze and started to swing her legs lightly, making the swing move back and forth in small movements. Only when she stopped did he open his mouth.

"So you didn't actually think of calling me or Gwen or anyone back here?" he asked nonchalantly, as if he were trying to make it seem like he didn't care. "You just happened to run into us," he continued, his voice rising, "and thought it was a good idea to apologize?"

Morgana looked back at him sharply, sending him an angry glare as she clutched at the ropes of her swing more and more tightly by the second till her knuckles turned white.

"How dare you say that," she replied menacingly. "How dare you even _think _that? What, so now I don't care about the people I grew up with, the people I consider family? Now I don't even care about my own home?" she continued on furiously. She understands his hurt, but to blindly jump into conclusions about her? Then she was wrong, he'd changed more than she initially thought. If he was going to be like this, then maybe he never truly knew her at all, and the mere thought of it was like a stab through the heart.

"Then what do you want me to think, Morgana?" he answered in the same angry tone. "What do you want me to do? Because the last time I checked, you haven't started explaining to me neither what happened to you in the last four years nor why I didn't even hear or read anything about you."

"Does that entitle you the right to just assume things about me?" she interrupted him before he could continue. "Haven't you thought about what I could have felt? Didn't you think that there's a reason why I haven't told you? Hasn't it occurred to you that you're not the only one hurting here? I had let you think and do and say what you want since I know you're angry at me, but _this, _this is too much."

"Then tell me now, Morgana!" Merlin roared, standing up and taking a few steps closer to her. The two boys in the distance glanced nervously at their direction upon hearing their argument and shouts, and scurried away in fear of what might happen if they stayed. They did not take notice of this, as Merlin was seething and Morgana sat tall in her seat, unwaveringly looking back into his wild eyes as she held her chin up to show that it was she who was being reasonable and she knew she was right.

They held their glowers for a few moments, unrelenting and unwilling to back down, until Merlin's square shoulders slacked and he whispered defeatedly, "Tell me now, Morgana, because right now, I'm think I'm going mad."

Her eyes softened at him against her will. He stood before her with his eyes downcast, his head hanging low as the quickened pace of the rise and fall of his chest seemed to slow down to a steady rhythm of deep breaths.

"I'm sorry if I've been forcing you to give out answers when you can't, but," he choked out without looking up, "you know how hard it was for me. You know what you meant to me and for you to disappear on me like that?"

When he finally raised his eyes to meet hers, her heart stopped. Morgana's determination to get across him evaporated into thin air as her fierce demeanour that she used as a shield, against whatever pain and to protect the pride she had left dropped helplessly and was forgotten. His eyes had reddened and suddenly the still blue of his irises reluctantly granted permission to the waves of roaring emotions that had threatened to show earlier. She saw with one look how truly lost he was, how confused and angry and afraid he was, and that it was all just somehow _her. _

Morgana stood to face him, but she was unable to look back at him as she kept her eyes on the blades of grass under their feet.

"I'm really sorry, Merlin," she almost whimpered, as if pleading for him to accept her apology. "You know I never wanted to abandon you or Gwen or anyone, never wanted to keep you all in the dark without you knowing where I was or whether or not I was okay. I know that it was wrong to not at least contact you over the past four years, and I know how much you were hurt and how much weight what we did, what _I _did, really had to add to the rift that grew between us. But Merlin, _please_, you have to believe me," she said, pausing for a moment to stare right back into his eyes to show her sincerity in her next words. "I didn't mean to. I didn't _want _to."

Merlin simply stood there, unblinking, unmoving, as he continued on to stare at her blankly. He really didn't know what to do next or how to respond as his eyes fell on to the ground. He couldn't really look at her anymore, shame sinking deep into his consciousness in the knowledge that he had acted rashly, which was something he almost never did.

When it seemed like he wasn't going to answer or respond at all, she let out a deep sigh and dug her hand into a pocket of her dress that Merlin didn't notice earlier. When she had retrieved her hand, it held a small card which she tucked inside the front pocket of his plaid shirt and she smoothed her hand over it afterwards. Morgana took a small step and leaned in towards him, pausing hesitantly for a second until her lips lightly brushed over his for a second. It was short, fleeting, gentle, but it had brought his heartbeat into an unexpected frenzy.

Morgana stepped away from him, her eyes on anywhere but Merlin, and started to walk with her back to him, leaving him alone to his thoughts. But he only had one in mind. He knew he was lost, that he's lost in her and only her, and that deep down he knew that he's always been the type of person who never truly got over his first love.

**AN:** _Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. :3 If you found anything wrong in it, then I apologize since I was practically half asleep writing it and I was too lazy to proofread it properly so don't hesitate to point out any typos or any mistakes in my grammar. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and please do leave reviews! :)_


	5. Ghosts and Decisions

**Hazy Bonds**

**Chapter 4 – Ghosts and Decisions**

"Come on, mate, what's this about? You've got a test next week and here you are moping like a teenage girl! You're never like this!" Gwaine exclaimed as he paced around the room. He had abandoned his bed earlier as he watched Merlin lie motionless on the mattress adjacent to his own, holding up a small white card. Merlin had entered the room, quiet, and simply went to bed to stare at the piece of paper he was holding up to his face in the dim light from the lamp on the nightstand.

Gwaine growled in frustration, snatching the card from his hands and looked at it closely, flipping his hair back as it went to his face. Merlin made no attempt to move, his hands still in the position it was in when he held the paper, as if he were holding an invisible sheet in his hands.

The card was thick, and though it seemed plain enough, on the front was a golden dragon, its body curved with intricate scales and twists around near the edge that serves as a border. In red bold ink, printed on the white space in the middle was "PENDRAGON CORPORATION" with a name, "Morgana Pendragon," below it. Underneath that next came an email address, then a cellphone number, a fax number, and what he was sure was the website of the company, all in an elegant clean cut cursive font. But beside the email address, this time written by what Gwaine could tell was by a woman, in an odd mix of cursive and printed letters were the words "pw: ambrosius". Gwaine frowned and flipped the card to look at the back, even though he knew there was nothing on it.

"What is she in the company? Why doesn't she have a title?" Gwaine asked his friend after putting it back between Merlin's fingers.

"She probably doesn't need one," Merlin muttered back, but his voice was too soft.

"What?"

"I said, she probably doesn't need one," Merlin repeated as he made his voice louder. Gwaine frowned at that.

"Why wouldn't she? Who's that chick anyway?"

Merlin peered at his friend. Seriously, did he have to point everything out to him? The name of the company was the same as her surname. "The daughter of the owner."

Gwaine's frown deepened at that. "But why do you have her card? Did you pick up this chick somewhere?" Merlin laughed humourlessly.

"This 'chick' isn't someone you just 'pick up'," Merlin answered, amused at his friend.

Flailing his arms in the air in exasperation, Gwaine exclaimed, "Then why the hell are you staring at that dumb card? You could've just picked that up from the ground for all I know!"

He was met only by silence. He waited for a few more moments, but Merlin stayed quiet, ignoring his worried inquiries.

"Fine!" Gwaine gave up. "Do what you want, stare at that like some creep." He jumped back on his bed and faced the wall with his back to his friend. He was determined to ignore him; if he wouldn't talk, then he didn't care. But of course, he failed. He couldn't help but care.

"Come on dude, what's wrong?" Gwaine asked, concern winning over his annoyance at Merlin's stubbornness. His friend merely stared at the card. It was if he were paralysed, as still as a statue, and he barely saw his chest rise and fall from his breathing. When he thought Merlin wasn't going to answer, Gwaine sighed and fell back on his bed, his eyes towards the ceiling.

"She's back, Gwaine," Merlin whispered, causing Gwaine to jump in surprise. "She's back," he repeated, over and over like a mantra in his head. Gwaine looked at him, the concern and worry for his friend very evident on his face. Whatever had happened between this Morgana and him must have been big, because Merlin never acted like this, even when he was dumped by a girl. Never.

* * *

Morgana picked at her food as she sat in front of her still full plate. She ate at her father's left, him being at the head of the long dark oak dining table, its surface covered with intricate carvings of world history with clear glass to protect the work of what can be called art. Her brother sat on his right, wolfing down every single thing on his plate while trying his best to listen to their father's talk of business.

She shut out everything that was happening around her as she sunk in deeper into her thoughts, thinking about her earlier encounter with Merlin.

Only when Uther lightly shook her arm was she woken up from her dazed state, making her look up to Uther's concerned expression and Arthur's frown.

"Are you alright, Morgana?" Uther asked. "Is something bothering you? You've hardly touched your food." He kept his hand on her arm, the skin that touched hers seeming like it burned through her flesh as she ached to shied away from him.

"No, I'm fine; it's just that I'm not feeling too well. But it's not anything to worry about," she attempted to reassure her father as she tried to make him get his hand off of her as soon as possible. Arthur raised an eyebrow as Morgana gave Uther her a pretty smile, the one she put on when she wanted something and knew she was going to get it.

"Maybe you should rest. You shouldn't strain yourself and force yourself to eat with us," Uther said, ever caring for his youngest. Morgana put her fork down and shot her father a weak smile to back up the excuse she used to get away from the table.

After she had practically sprinted across the polished floors towards the large staircase, Arthur turned to his father.

"Father, would it be alright if I excuse myself as well? I want to check up on Morgana to see if she's alright," Arthur requested of Uther, knowing that she wasn't at all feeling unwell.

Seeing nothing wrong with what seemed to him to be simply Arthur showing concern for his sibling, Uther nodded his head and continued on cutting the meat on his plate and plopping them into his mouth. Arthur stood from his seat and followed after her sister to her bedroom, leaving Uther to eat alone in the vast dining room.

As he climbed up the steps and walked through the winding corridors of his house, Arthur looked around his old childhood home with eyes filled with recognition. It was all still the same, the thin layer of dust being cleaned off days ago, each nook and corner filled with memories with his sister and their visiting friends. He was back in his old home, after going through what he had to back in the far land he had stayed in for almost half a decade.

Arthur stopped in front of a door and knocked, opening it when he heard a soft voice from the inside saying, "Come in."

The door gave a low creak as he turned the doorknob and pushed it open. The sight he was greeted with was Morgana lying down by the edge of her bed as she stared at the ceiling, a couple of boxes lying on the floor as they waited to be opened and emptied. He noted that the only things that were unpacked were her books, already lined up and filling the bookshelf that leaned against the wall Morgana was facing, and her clothes that had easily filled her open closet.

Arthur crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe, watching Morgana with an inquisitive eye.

"So," he started, in a voice that let Morgana know that he wasn't fooled by her little act earlier.

Morgana turned her head to look at him, giving her a confused look, as if she didn't know why he was there. He rolled his eyes and strolled further inside her room, taking a seat beside her. "You know Morgana, I wasn't born yesterday. So, are you going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to force it out of you?"

She sighed in annoyance towards her big brother and sat up. "Fine," she grumbled, leaning against the heap of pillows on her head and stared at her hands.

Arthur nodded, waiting for her to continue. She let out another sigh, only this time, he could tell the weariness laced with it.

"I saw them today, Arthur," she whispered, her voice so soft that he had to strain to hear it.

"Who do you mean by 'them'?" Arthur asked her in turn, not fully understanding her statement.

She looked up from her white hands, and then he knew. His eyes widened as he paled, his mouth gapping as he tried to say something back to her. He hadn't expected a confrontation with his old friends all too soon, because he was definitely not ready for it. He placed his own hands on hers, rubbing the back of her hands as he tried to comfort her, unable to say anything as her eyes rimmed with held-back tears.

* * *

On Sundays, Gwen's shift at the Prints and Cups café ended early, and Merlin thought it was a good idea to pass by to eat the glorious muffins of the coffee shop for breakfast. He quickly regretted his decision as he moaned at Gwen's constant inquiry of the events that had happened between him and Morgana.

"Gwen, stop it, I'm not talking about it!" Merlin repeated as she stood beside his table with her hands on her hips.

"But don't I at least deserve to know what you two talked about? I'm her friend too, you know, and I'm also involved in this!" Gwen tried to counter, knowing full well that she was fighting a losing battle. Merlin sent her a glare and she put her hands up in defeat, sitting down on the chair in front of him as he took a bite from his blueberry muffin.

"Aren't you needed behind the cash register?" Merlin asked, frowning as Gwen sat lazily in front of him.

"Lancelot will cover for me," Gwen shrugged.

Merlin grinned devilishly at that. "How's that going, by the way? You two seemed to be getting comfortable around each other since I introduced you to him the other day," he said, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. He had suggested to Lancelot to work part-time at the café, as he could do with the extra money.

Gwen began to blush furiously, embarrassed at Merlin's scandalous implications. "It's nothing like that," she stuttered, struggling to form words as she glanced at Lancelot handling the customers behind the counter. He caught her look and sent her a kind smile, which she returned. Merlin scoffed.

"Yeah, right," he replied, sipping at his tea as he let her know that he didn't believe her on bit.

"You'll have to tell me what happened soon, though," she insisted when he had polished his pastry clean. Merlin nodded and stood from his seat, pressing a kiss on her forehead as he told her that he had to rush. She smiled at him as he moved to exit the shop, and unknown to her, Lancelot paused in his brewing of a new pot of coffee when he saw the two friends exchange their farewells with a frown.

Gwen took her time sitting at the table Merlin had occupied, thinking about why he wouldn't say anything as to what had happened the day before. She knew that this was a sensitive topic for the both of them, but she was yet to know the truth and she was determined to uncover it.

When she decided to stand and go back to work, Gwen was surprised when Morgana suddenly sat down on the seat in front of her, a look of determination evident on her face. She wore a loose dark forest green blouse with her hair up in a messy bun, and the only obvious make-up on her face was the slight pink gloss on her lips. She wore a silver necklace around her neck that made Gwen's breath hitch in her throat, recognizing the chain and pendant immediately.

"Gwen," Morgana started with her eyes hard and her jaw set. "I need to talk to you, and I can't have no for an answer."

**AN:** _Hey! SO... A new chapter! So what did Morgana wanted to talk about with Gwen? Find out in the next chapter! XD_

_:D Again, I live nowhere near the UK, and I know nothing about business or anything that's supposed to be written on a business card, but I decided to give it a shot. I didn't edit it, so please forgive any mistakes I may have made. Leave reviews, please, I'd definitely appreciate it! :)_


	6. All Out Of The Blue

**AN: **_Hello, dears! :D Got the next update, but I'm afraid to inform you that this chapter still might leave you hanging and start asking a lot of questions. Also, this definitely isn't my best chapter, so you've been warned._

**Hazy Bonds**

**Chapter 5 – All Out Of The Blue**

Summer has finally past, and Merlin was finished with his extra classes. He walked through the university's halls and corridors with a certain swagger and a huge grin plastered to his face, headed to Gwen's new dorm to welcome her to her new school as a surprise. It wasn't much of a shock when she had passed the entrance exams and that she took art studies as her major; in all seriousness, he thought Gwen was going to collapse any second from all the work she put herself with and he'd be damned if she didn't pass.

But before he could exit the building, he was stopped by a man in a tweed blazer over a clean white button-down shirt and pressed black trousers, the very few almost white hairs on his head and the wrinkles on his face serving as evidence that he was well past the prime of his life. His right eyebrow was always curved upwards in a high arch, intimidating the students and the younger teachers with his stern expression. The man held a couple of books and papers under his arm with a bag slung over his shoulder, and despite his usual seemingly strict appearances, he didn't stop the edges of his lips to warmly curl upward upon seeing Merlin strut down to the building's entrance.

"Merlin," the man greeted him as he opened his arms, bringing Merlin into a quick embrace as the people nearby took in the two with a slight surprise.

"Gaius," Merlin smiled back warmly as they pulled back.

"That's _professor_ to you," Gaius grumbled at Merlin's informality, only for Merlin to laugh at his old family friend good-naturedly. Merlin turned and followed his professor back into the university's main building, putting off his visit to Gwen's for the moment.

"How is Hunith doing? I hear that she is recovering," Gaius asked with a frown. Merlin's mother had been under a lot of stress as of late, distracting Merlin from his vigorous studies and social life that he had somehow managed to balance, and it had took its toll on her poor health.

Merlin bit his lip, but answered him nonetheless. "She's doing well. The medications you prescribed her are doing a great job, Gaius. I don't think it will take too long for her to get fully well, I guess," he shrugged. Gaius smiled and nodded approvingly.

"And you? How were your summer classes?" Gaius continued to inquire. "I heard you took quite a couple."

"I passed them great," Merlin beamed at him. "At least now I get to have some extra credit." His professor, although proud of his student, also worried that he was taking in too much work on his hands.

"I think you should take a break, Merlin," Gaius warned the younger man, who came to be rather like a son to him. "All that school work will start to wear you down if you don't slow down a bit. Your grades are doing excellently, but you don't want what happened to your mother to happen to you as well."

Merlin nodded. "Thanks, Gaius, I appreciate it." He put his hand on his professor's shoulder, said his farewells, and gone back to were he was originally headed to much earlier.

* * *

Merlin stopped in front of a door after entering the girls' dormitories and climbing up several flights of stairs. With his other hand shoved deep into his jacket's pocket, he raised the other to knock on the door, pausing when he heard bubbling laughter from the other side.

He frowned and pressed his ear against the white wood, trying to hear the voices that were coming from the inside. It seemed like Gwen already had company with her, or it was probably her roommate.

He finally knocked on her door, and he could still hear the laughter as he waited for someone to open the door for him.

When Gwen had opened it, she was smiling and still chuckling, but when her eyes set on Merlin, her happy attitude seconds before left her face without a trace. She stood still as he waved at her hesitantly, her eyes wide, and it only made Merlin's confusion grow all the more.

"Hi, Gwen," he said to her slowly. "Is something wrong?"

"I—I, uh, um, I—," Gwen stammered, but she was cut off by a giggle, growing louder and louder as it approached them from behind her, and Morgana's head poked out from beside Gwen.

"Who's at the—" Morgana's eyes widened as soon as she saw Merlin by the door, frozen by the unexpected appearance.

"I can explain," Gwen blurted out as she joined Merlin outside the door, sending Morgana an apologetic glance as she shut the door in her face. When she faced Merlin, she could not meet his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest, his expression expecting and his foot tapping on the cold floor.

•

"So that person inside your room is…" Merlin started, obviously denying the fact that it was _Morgana _who he just saw earlier. But Gwen merely nodded as she waited for Merlin to burst, to vocalize the emotions she knew would be building up in his chest.

"What—" Merlin tried to say, but he then started to pace, thinking, pondering. She waited for him to continue, knowing full well that it would be the best thing to do.

"What the… What the _fuck!_" was all Merlin could say as he halted, turning his head to snap look back at Gwen as she slightly at his jumpiness. "Explain, Guinevere, _explain _what it is that I saw in _there,_" Merlin pointed back at the closed door as he left no room for any arguments from her.

Gwen released a defeated sigh and bit her lip, thinking on how to approach their current situation. "Alright, but please promise me you won't be angry," she answered, and with a nod of Merlin's head, she began to explain in defence to her actions.

"A few weeks ago, Morgana came to me at the café after you left. Sh—she tried to explain to me as much as she could as to why she did what she did, why she left, what had happened in America… but she left out too much for me to completely understand," Gwen started. She was relieved to see Merlin's breathing slow down, but before she could continue, he interrupted her with a question.

"What did she say?" Merlin asked with keen interest.

Gwen's eyes maintained a distracted look for a while, remembering the things she was told by her hold friend in a part of their long conversation.

"_I'm back for good," Morgana said convincingly in the coffee shop, staring firmly at the dumbfounded Gwen after listening to her story._

"_B-but, _why _are you back?" she managed to ask back at the raven haired woman._

_Morgana shook her head. "It's not something I can say, Gwen. All you need to know is that as long as you don't know, you'd be safe. Please, you have to trust me on this."_

_But there was something that she couldn't get out of her mind. "What do we tell Merlin?"_

_Her friend's eyes hardened for a moment, and she said with much conviction, "He can't know, not yet. Sooner or later, he'll find out but… not now. I'm not ready to tell him yet." Gwen bit her lip, only hoping that what they were doing was right._

But he was to be disappointed with a shake of her head. "I don't think that's something you're supposed to hear from me. And besides, I think she didn't tell me anything you haven't already known," she lied through her teeth. With that, she carried on with her memory of what had happened several weeks ago.

"Morgana convinced me that she didn't mean what she did, and she begged me to believe her. What was I supposed to say to that, Merlin? With all that sincerity she was showing that I _know _she had good intentions? Please, Merlin, you have to believe me. You have to trust me on this. I know you're mad at her, but give her a chance, yeah?" Gwen pleaded with Merlin, trying to reason with him that she did what was best for the situation.

"I'm leaving," Merlin merely replied, unable to bear with the position they found themselves to be in.

"Oh no you don't," Gwen said as she grabbed Merlin's arm when he moved to leave.

"Gwen," Merlin whined, wanting nothing more but to get away from the place as much as possible, away from Morgana, but what could he do when she was putting on those big brown puppy-dog eyes?

Eventually, Merlin slumped his shoulders, tired in keeping up his defiance, and followed his friend back into the room where Morgana stood by her boxes, unable to concentrate on her tasks as she was distracted by thoughts of what Merlin and Gwen were talking about.

There were only a few pieces of furniture in the living room; just the basics were already set on the almost empty space. With only a bare shelf, a coffee table, and a couch that the three occupied with Gwen in the middle, only the boxes served to fill the room.

"So…" Gwen started, trying to fill the silence that grew thick with awkwardness.

"You convinced Gwen to let you stay with her, then?" Merlin asked pointedly at Morgana, ignoring Gwen, as he stared straight at the wall in front of him, knowing that she would be in a similar position, slumped against the back of the couch.

"I just want you both to understand, Merlin," Morgana replied, not particularly answering him, also ignoring poor Gwen as she acted like a boulder between them.

Merlin nodded, despite the fact that he didn't know whether Morgana saw it or not.

After a few more moments of silence, Gwen couldn't stand it anymore. She stood from her seat and without a word, grabbed her bag and coat from the breakfast counter and exited the dorm as she left the two alone.

They remained unmoved on their seats, but they were painfully aware of each other's somehow loud breathing as it echoed against the walls.

"So where are you majoring?" Merlin asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Journalism," Morgana muttered, earning a surprised look on Merlin's face as he turned to face her.

"What? I'd guessed you'd be into Business," he muttered back, the shock evident in his tone. Morgana raised an eyebrow as she turned to return Merlin's stare.

"Well, you guessed wrong," Morgana retorted.

Silence.

"What did you tell Gwen?" Merlin suddenly asked. She shrugged in reply.

"I basically told her what I told you."

Another silence. It was becoming a constant occurrence between them, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Look, I'm sorry," Merlin finally managed to work out the words around his tongue. "I know I shouldn't have acted like an insane arsehole, but I did it anyway, and I did it without knowing enough to have the right to have done what I have." Morgana's forehead creased, but nodded her head at his apology. But being unable to help herself, she tackled Merlin and hugged him fiercely, making Merlin emit a grunt.

When she pulled back and saw Merlin's surprised expression, she sat back at the other end of the couch, a blush rising on her cheeks as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

"What's that on the card you gave me?" Merlin cleared his throat, trying to get the uneasiness out of the way between them. Morgana smiled.

"I gave you my number and email, of course," she replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Not to Merlin, though.

"Your email?" he repeated dumbly. She nodded.

"Written beside it is my password. I want you to open my account and read whatever is in the Drafts folder."

"Drafts folder?" he repeated her words again, more confused than ever.

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Tell me, who made you be _such _a _good _trained parrot?"

Merlin shook his head and tried not to smile at her still sarcastic self. "But what do you have in there that's so important that you had to show me?"

She sent him a crooked smile and replied, "You'll just have to see for yourself."

With that, she stood from her seat and went to her boxes of things that needed her attention sooner or later, leaving Merlin sitting alone on the couch. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he too stood from the couch and proceeded to help her unpack.

**AN:** _Forgive any mistakes you may have noticed, please, since it's like 4:30 in the morning here and I'm haggard as hell. What do you guys think? :D I know it isn't very good, and the way I made Merlin and Morgana make up definitely wasn't the best, nor was the chapter itself, but it needed to be done. Please leave reviews, as they would definitely make my day! :)_

_I probably wouldn't be updating tomorrow, so please be patient!_


	7. AN - HIATUS

**AN**: Hello, my dear readers! I'm sorry for those who thought this was an update, only to be greeted with a damned Author's Note. I hate that too. But these things are inevitable, and I kinda need to say this.

I'm sorry that I haven't updated this story in a while (though it hasn't been _that_ long), and I'm sorry again to say that I'll be putting this story on **hiatus**. Yeah, I know. Sucks. But I'll be trying to refine the plot a bit more, and school's about to start in less than a month, so I only have the resources to focus on one story and I need to prepare for the next school year. There are also plenty of novels to read, and I can't put that need aside…

Don't worry, if you want updates, just read my other story, Standing Resistance. :)) It's a fanfic centralized on almost purely Mergana, but M rated. I'll surely be updating that. Please leave reviews, still! I'll appreciate criticisms and such, and please be patient with me!

Best wishes,

DiscoloredLady.


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